A Dad-First Solopreneur’s First Day: This Is My Job Now?

The 3-year old is off to school, the first cup of coffee is downed, the laptop is open (balancing atop the gray sweatpants), and the most perfect specimen of a 7-month old sweetheart is seated in front of me, cooing angelically.

Look, I know this isn’t going to last. I’m sure that angel by my side will soon poop out the back of her diaper. And I know that before I know it, the little “Batman” will be back in the house, jumping onto my neck off the couch. And I know I can’t keep buying that delicious $5 coffee every morning.

But what I do know is that this is the first step in my journey. My journey to prioritizing and *gasp* actually doing the things that make me happy instead of the things I’m “supposed” to be doing. Do the things you love with the people you love. That’s it!

It’s not that I didn’t like my job. I actually liked it a lot. But when I asked myself the question, “Would you be doing this if you weren’t getting paid for it?” I couldn’t honestly answer yes. And when there is so much in this world that I want to see and do and accomplish, it seemed silly to spend any amount of time not focused on those things.

So here I sit, listening to The Beatles (thanks Spotify!), basking in the late morning sunlight and thinking that life couldn’t get any better. I know there are hard days and late nights ahead, but in this single surreal moment my goals of living a life of purpose filled with the people I cherish the most aren’t just abstract, far away plans.